harpun

/[ˈxarpun]/ noun

The verdict

“harpun” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
6
letters

Dominant Wiktionary sense: Speer mit Widerhaken für den Fischfang oder Walfang; Harpune

Key facts for harpun
PropertyValue
Headwordharpun
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈxarpun]
Letters6
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “harpun” sits in German frequency

harpun falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for harpun is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˈxarpun]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Speer mit Widerhaken für den Fischfang oder Walfang; Harpune".

No misspelling variants are generated for harpun in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is harpun, spelled H-A-R-P-U-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    Speer mit Widerhaken für den Fischfang oder Walfang; Harpune

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “harpun, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/harpun

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "harpun"?
"harpun" is spelled H-A-R-P-U-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈxarpun].
What does "harpun" mean?
As a noun, "harpun" means: Speer mit Widerhaken für den Fischfang oder Walfang; Harpune
How do you pronounce "harpun"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "harpun" is [ˈxarpun]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "harpun" come from?
"harpun" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “harpun”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is H-A-R-P-U-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈxarpun] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter H in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list